The Twenty-Sixth Republic -Half Term Horror?

[StaffAssociationRepresentative]

You are most welcome to this school staff support thread to get us through stressful times. It is meant for school staff only – a sort of room of requirement. Baiters, haters, goaders and bashers can jog on somewhere else.

If you are NOT staff and just have a general education query please start your own thread.

You can play here if you are a member of one the following groups-

-ABBA - anti bashers and baiting association
-SWAB - school workers against bashers
-SWOT - school workers opposing teacherbashers
-STARS - schoolworkers together against ranting + slurs

Do not give ‘The Every twat for Themselves mob’ the staffroom password as a number of them are operating in an alternative reality.

No DfE muppets allowed

Other requirements for staff room entry include the ability to find the staff room, the ability to find a clean mug in the staff room, knowledge of the photocopier codes, and the ability to sniff out where the toffee vodka is hidden.

If you are fed up with cakes and biscuits there is now a cheeseboard on offer

If you come with a stick to goad us then that is not allowed in the staffroom and you will receive a detention

I ahve never kept books and mentioned to colleagues that they should stop doing this now : cross contamination but also SI for students.

When 60 year 11s had to SI, guess whose was the only class with their books at home!!?

Brave mother. At least you aren't noble so shouldn't get the immediate 'I knew it would be you' eye roll.

No time attached to my TLR either. I'm borderline over timetabled anyway. Technically not but compared to the rest of the dept 4 hours above the next person. Seems the better you are, the more you do!!

Well, I’ve focused on my concerns for the disparity of continued education. I guess my students are ‘lucky’ that they had and will continue to have live lessons during SI but what about pupils with no tech? 3 weeks delay of exams will really help that!

Before covid I used to look after students books between lessons as so many of them would loose or forget to bring them. This meant my main aim in those 2 days in March between the announcement schools were closing and the school closing was to get as many students as possible to take their books with them. I still had about 100 books left in my room though that I needed to decover to remove the name before getting rid of it.

Currently I've been trying to get students to look after their own books, but most seem to be leaving them in the classroom each day. This makes sense really, as they are always in the same room.

My former head used to say that if you wanted something done, you should ask a busy person. I think he meant it as a compliment... but it never felt much like one when I was running round chasing my tail.
For the first time in aeons, the school's local MP is a Tory. Our catchment has some incredibly deprived wards. He voted against free school meals. Some people have really had their eyes opened.

Our kids have always looked after their own books between lessons, because they've usually got homework to do. I collect their books once a week to mark them and I'm currently terrified that I'll have a couple of sets of books at home with me if/when I need to self isolate suddenly. I can't mark them all at school though because dd needs me to come home on time so she's not left in the house on her own too long.

Our school policy on exercise books has always been that it's the teachers' discretion whether to send them home between lessons or collect in.

Now, it's policy to always send them home. It saves time collecting them in/handing them out which is better spent on cleaning desks and chairs (!) but, most importantly, it's so they should always have them for an emergency isolation period (unless being marked...)

MsAwesomeDragon

I’ve changed my marking to accommodate exactly this - I’ll do “presentation” marking at school but only mark specific pierces of work for feedback- they’re done on coloured paper which I can collect in. Kids stick them in their book and do the feedback underneath.

For KS4 it makes tracking progress easy also.

Plus the books look fab 🤣

Ooh Smile - I like that idea! Stealing it, thanks

WhyNotMe40

The kids are all like “ooooooh coloured paper...” and take it really seriously 🤣

(I print lines onto coloured A4, which works out cheaper than buying reams of coloured lines paper)

It's been reported in local media that our trust remained fully open. I think this must mean that we were offering live lessons to those self isolating. I feel I can't really say how many but it was a lot.

I have two sets of y11. I had all of their books when we sent them home last week because I'd taken them in to mark. About 1/3 went home with siblings, a few went home with friends in other years, a few went with colleagues and a couple of parents collected from reception. The rest are still in my office.
They have a Very Important completely invalid Mock on Monday. Sigh.
Luckily, I could fire out lots of pages on class notebook for them which mirror pages in their books but we need a system next time.

I think the main issue remains mother that posters still see this about live leaning. Live learning at home isn't as good either. In some cases it is shite. Kids having repeated bouts of SI, whether getting complete live provision or not, will be disadvantaged.

And THAT will affect MH more that anything I can think of!

I don't take books in at all now for most classes : work on paper which is then glued in (if they have glue). I couldn't care less whether their books are untidy but that's not a change of mindset for me!

Agree @Piggywaspushed. I’m not sure I’m entirely comfortable knowing my students are in front of a laptop from 9-3.40 each day.

Agree @Piggywaspushed. Not sure how comfortable I feel knowing my students are sitting in front of a laptop from 9-3.40 each day.

Am also stealing the coloured paper idea!

Gah! Thought my original post had disappeared so typed it again 🙄

The story comes form Branwen Jeffries. She is tweeting about it now.

Essentially your thread shows me lots of MN couldn't give a shit about the North.

I do think if RLB had remained shadow education secretary there would be more debate.

“Essentially your thread shows me lots of MN couldn't give a shit about the North”.

Depressing but true.

I think a lot of MN don’t give a shit about any area affected so long as it isn’t theirs.

I think a lot of MN don’t give a shit about any area affected so long as it isn’t their child who gets on great with remote live lessons and a tutor and home made protein balls hourly.

Fixed it for you 😉

At least you aren't noble

:(

I want to come up with a thread title and OP then give it to one of you lot to post and really confuse people!

Must admit my thread is quite restrained at the moment!

It did cross my mind that if noble had started it, it would be a different story!